What is the best shark dive you guys have ever done?

[DivemasterDennis]

I think the best "shark dives" are really shark encounters. Debbie and I do not dive on any dive where sharks are lured in by feeding or sound or otherwise. We will go on a dive to a location where sharks are expected to be seen, and the best one of those for me was the Molokai hammerhead shark dive. It takes a bot ride to Molokai from Maui, which on some days can be quite rough. The dive is off the East end of Molokai, between the Islad and a couple of off shore pinnacles. There is current, but there are wonderful schools of hammerheads, who drift in the current and wait for the squid and other food sources to be carried to them. If you are ever on Maui, contact Lahaina divers about going on this dive whihc is very much for advanced ( and experienced) divers. My second best shark dive was on the back wall of Molikinin Crater off of South Maui. We saw a large tiger shark ( 1o feet or more) cruising and then latching onto and shaking ( ultimately eating a much smaller ( perhaps 3 to 4 feet long) white tipped reef shark. Two shars on the dive, and it was a great "shark dive" even though the objective was to see manta rays, which we did not.
DIvemasterDennis

 

[DBailey]

To some of my dive buddies, my best shark encounter was the shark I never saw.

It was in the Bahamas. The shark was described as "smaller that me". Since I am 6'-9" tall, that still leaves some room for the shark to be a decent size.

I was taking some excellent photos of a loggerhead turtle sleeping on the reef. According to my dive buddies, the shark was approaching me head on. I was focused on the turtle and never saw the shark. While I was hovering snapping pictures of the turtle, the shark swam at the same depth pretty much straight at my head. My buddy was trying to telepathically tell me to "look up" just as the shark was right in front of me. She wanted to see me freak out. The shark changed depth and just swam right above me and went on about its business. I never knew the shark was there. It was quite the talk back on the boat.

PS I got some GREAT shots of the turtle

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

A week liveaboard with Jim Abernethy doing tiger sharks and wild dolphins!

 

[t4e]

Yes, NC does have a lot of shark action, I am a neighbor in Virginia Beach, but I personally really liked my shark encounters with Stuart Cove in Nassau Bahamas as well as the Shark encounter with Zanadu in Freeport Bahamas. Zanadu did the shark trance which when they rubbed the snout of the shark it went perpendicular to the ocean floor and basically went to sleep. Quite awesome. Now I did those dives many many years ago and I am not sure if they are the same today.

I'll second the Stuart Cove shark dive in Bahamas

 

[DKL]

Jupiter Florida has sharks. Area 51 is good. I don't go on feeding dives, but you don't have to feed at Jupiter...there be sharks.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Jupiter Florida has sharks. Area 51 is good. I don't go on feeding dives, but you don't have to feed at Jupiter...there be sharks.

They are pretty seasonal aren't they?

 

[TSandM]

What's "best"? Most? Closest? Biggest?

The night we darned near ran into about a 14 foot six gill was pretty cool.

Hanging with 7 or 8 lemon sharks off West Palm was pretty amazing.

But watching a school of probably more than a hundred hammerheads spiral down into the black off Roca Partida was probably the best, especially since it was followed by trailing a school of fish into the blue and watching them patrolled by silkies and Galapagos sharks.

 

[Doc]

The dive buddy is what made it cool...

 

[DKL]

They are pretty seasonal aren't they?

I've never been in that area and not seen sharks of some kind. Some species are seasonal, I believe, but there be sharks there. It's a deeper dive about 90 - 100 ft. The current can be fast in the Spring, makes for a nice drift dive. Lots of grouper and turtles also.

Last time I was there, as I recall, visibility was about 60-80 feet, water temp. was 65-68. Sea was running about 3-5 feet. I believe it was in March or April of this year, if memory serves me.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I don't do shark feed/baiting dives.

Best so far was Sipidan, close encounters with leopards and hammerheads . . .then to see the running of the river of schooling hammerheads too numerous to even estimate numbers. Of course, we also encountered other more common sharks but they just didn't have the same impact.

Most magical, whale sharks at Gladden Spit, Belize and diving with Splash Divers.

Mostly thrilling, shark that I pissed off by shining my flash light on it, whilst in Blue Hole. Shark figured since I wanted to look at him so much, then he'd accommodate me up close and personal.